Calendar for April 21st, 2014

Patriots Day

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, from "Concord Hymn"

Patriots Day commemorates the events of April 19, 1775, that marked the start of the American Revolutionary War, especially the midnight rides of Paul Revere and others to warn of the approach of British troops, and the battles of Lexington and Concord. Today, Massachusetts and Maine celebrate Patriots Day as a legal holiday on the third Monday in April, with reenactments and other events.

Learn more about the first shots fired on Lexington Green to "the shot heard round the world" at Concord's North Bridge by visiting the Minute Man National Park in Concord. The annual running of the Boston Marathon also takes place on this day. You may want to do your patriotic duty and check out the official Web site of the Boston Marathon, sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association.

1990s

2000s

2004: In a procedure billed as a first in the U.S., Stephanie Yarber, an infertile Alabama woman, received a transplanted ovary from her identical twin sister, Melanie Morgan

2007: Thirteen year old Morgan Pozgar won the LG National Texting Championship. She typed the message, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious. If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious." in 15 seconds

2007: 13-yr.-old Morgan Pozgar won LG U.S. National Texting Championship

2010s

2012: Chicago White Sox pitcher Phil Humber threw a perfect game

2012: Fireball exploded over Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, rattling homes from central California to Reno, Nevada. Experts believe it was caused by a meteoroid about the size of a minivan.